


hung on your sleeve (you wore your heart on it)

by i_like_ships



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, hiroshi sato is a dick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28490469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_like_ships/pseuds/i_like_ships
Summary: They met when Asami was 17 — a not quite adult, weighed down by impossible expectations and harsh words — and Korra, a 16 year old looking to escape strict rules and to find her own path in the world.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	hung on your sleeve (you wore your heart on it)

**Author's Note:**

> not me starting another multi chaptered fic while my other one isn’t finished yet... 
> 
> thanks for clicking this btw :) 
> 
> this is my first work about korrasami so uhh hopefully it’s decent??

They met when she was 17 — a not quite adult, weighed down by impossible expectations and harsh words — and Korra, a 16 year old looking to escape strict rules and to find her own path in the world.

It was on the roof of the local library where Korra encountered her, leaning absentmindedly against the flimsy railing that bordered the roof, holding something between red lips — a cigarette. The water tribe girl regularly visited the place; she had never been an enthusiastic student and it helped clear her head, although she had never seen the other girl there.

Korra approached her usual spot, gazing at the bustling town below her, at all the people who were able to make their own choice as they led their separate, complex lives.

She cast a curious glance at the other (who could have been a model) taking in onyx tresses, pale skin, a modest grey skirt and burgundy sweater, and green eyes. She looked sad, Korra noted even as the girl regarded her coolly.

“What brings you up here?” Korra eventually asked, unable to suffer under the black haired woman’s steady, solemn gaze.

She could see the maybe model was debating whether or not to answer her question. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” was the reply. 

Korra shrugged. There was no harm in answering the query, not really. “It’s my escape from the world.” 

That got the onyx haired woman’s interest. She looked at Korra again, and Korra sensed that she was being studied; scrutinised under that gaze yet again.

“What are you escaping _from?”_

The brunette didn’t miss how the other avoided her question. 

“Nothing,” she said simply. “And everything, at the same time.” 

Korra saw the woman falter, perhaps unsure how to answer, finally settling for, “Poetic,” as they lapsed back into silence. 

Not exactly comfortable silence, but it wasn’t an awkward kind of silence either.

She returned her gaze back to the streets and shops, the silhouettes of people in the dimming light. The sun was setting: pinks and oranges and purples splashing across the sky in a stunning transition from day to night. 

A blaring noise interrupted the tranquility. Korra peered at the other girl who pulled out a phone — a SatoPhone, she recognised it as — and cursed.

*****

Asami swore as she realised the noise was coming from her SatoPhone, and that it was the alarm she had set to remind herself to return home. 

The other girl, who had tanned brown skin, blue eyes and hair cut in a cute bob looked at her, obviously intrigued. Her facial features told Asami that she was from one of the two Water Tribes — not that Asami was looking at them, of course. It was merely a... casual observation. 

Another casual observation was that she appeared tired. And a little sad, too. Just like Asami. 

Asami quickly pocketed the device and strode to the door that lead back down to the library.

“You’re going to miss the stars,” came a quiet voice from behind her.

She turned, one hand already on the doorknob.

The girl flushed a little, perhaps realising how random her outburst was. “Sorry,” she said. “Just, the stars are beautiful. Bright. Endless.” she gave Asami a crooked smile, albeit a shy one. “Sorry,” she said again. “You probably don’t want to listen to me stumble over my words.”

Asami found the behaviour endearing, in a way. “No, it’s all right,” she said. “Go on.”

She walked back to the railing, her curfew forgotten, and consequences ignored — a guaranteed scolding and maybe even a beating, depending on her father’s mood, in exchange for a few words from this stranger. Still, for an inexplicable reason, Asami was _drawn_ to the girl.

The brunette looked up at the sky again, taking in the twinkling lights that danced across the night.

Asami noticed the other looked a little less sad and lost when talking about the stars. Perhaps she had a happy memory associated with them, or perhaps they were her passion.

She watched as the Water Tribe girl reached out a hand, stretching slim fingers towards the myriad of glittering lights — as if she could reach out and catches one. 

“When I was younger,” she began, and Asami listened intently. “I would always go stargazing with my parents in the South Pole.

“And my mum would tell me about the constellations — Raava, Wan, Vaatu and all those, and then my dad would lift me up and tell me, “One day, you’re going to have a constellation named after _you,_ and they’ll regale stories about how wonderful and caring and brave and what a hero you are!’”

Asami exhaled softly, wishing that _she_ had a memory like that of her parents that she could smile and reminiscence about it without feeling a pang in her chest. 

“Woah,” she eventually managed. “That sounds like an amazing memory. A good thing to retain as you grew up.”

The girl inclined her head. “What about you? Any good memories back when you were a kid?”

Asami hesitated, searching for something _good,_ something notable, but those memories were either forgotten or hidden in the deepest depths of her brain, like a facing a locked door to a room you used to love to be in, and without the key. 

The girl quirked an eyebrow when Asami didn’t answer, and Asami apologised, telling the girl she couldn’t think of any off the top of her head.

The brunette reassured her, but then asked if there was anything in particular Asami was escaping from.

Asami didn’t recall saying she was evading anything, but what harm could come to her when the stranger evidently didn’t know her name? 

She breathed in deeply, and softly murmured, “My family.”

It felt almost forbidden to say, since families were supposed to be somewhere you felt comfortable and safe and eager to return to, and not people you desperately wanted to avoid, were you not? 

At least, that’s how families were always portrayed in books.

The Water Tribe girl’s eyes widened a fraction, and her mouth parted in shock. “Oh,” she finally said.

“Yeah,” Asami grimaced, and faintly, there was a voice telling her, why did she do that? a stranger didn’t need to know her woes, and nor would they care. She ignored it. She wasn’t quite sure why, but something about this stranger — maybe her hesitant expression, the sadness in her eyes, gave Asami the feeling she was trustworthy. 

Asami cursed again, when her phone rang. The Called ID said Dad, and quickly pulled it from her pocket and brought it up to her ear. Bidding a hasty farewell to the girl, she jogged down the stairs, wincing as her father angrily berated her. 

Asami hastily promised to be more responsible — “I swear, Dad, I won’t do this ever again!”  
“You better not. Imagine how your mother would think of your behaviour,” — whilst blinking back tears. 

And with a single phone call, she was whisked back to the real world; leaving behind her sanctum, where grades and appearances and pleasing her father were the least of her worries.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! apologies for any spelling or grammatical errors, or if autocorrect screwed up spectacularly
> 
> please consider leaving kudos/a comment if you enjoyed it
> 
> visit me on twitter @i_like_ships


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